Life beyond Radford

At the moment I'm due to be married in November to my future wife Mel. Mel and I recently decided to start our own business as it had been something we have always dreamed about. We have both been in hospitality for many many years and figured opening Al CaChino's Cappuccinos was the next logical step. I love being able to work in a job where I get to meet new people every day and I truly believe if you love what you do you never work a day in your life.

I'm passionate about family friends and work. I never take anything for granted and I believe that the people we meet and the bonds we make are the most important things in life. Everyone has their own story and everyone's story is unique. I originally started out in hospitality as a side job while I was studying to be a locksmith. I found that working with people and listening to their stories was one of the most rewarding experiences that I have had. I soon became aware that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a living working with people in this environment. I wanted to create an experience for these people that they would enjoy and that I would enjoy providing them. To this day I have never dreaded going to work. Every day is different and every person has a different story to tell.

At a young age I wanted to be a pilot. Looking back at this I dont know if I would have been happy doing it as a career. Flying a plane would be great, but for me, I thing it would be more fun to do as a hobby rather than a job.

Year 9 camp. It was one of the hardest things I have done but also one of the most rewarding. Another great memory from school was a teacher called Mr Pearcil. One day in history he had a few of the seniors stage a fight out the front of our classroom. He staged this fight to teach us a lesson that if we were all to recall this fight to someone, everyone's versions of the fight would be slightly different. Just like events in history might be skewed slightly differently. It was a simple point but it stuck with me and I'm sure a lot of my other classmates.

I would have to say my sister is one of my big role models. Especially after she had just finished at Radford. She was always so driven and determined. She had moved out of home, got married, started a family, studied a commerce degree and was working to pay the bills all before she was 25. She now has 4 great kids, a great job and is still one of my biggest role models.

For me, it was definitely not easy to decide what to do. For some people it comes naturally and for others it's a hard choice. When I finished school I wanted to do an apprenticeship. I started working as a locksmith but wasn't really enjoying it. I spent a lot of time by myself, every day was repetitive and the money back then for an apprentice was terrible. I started working in a bar to earn a bit of extra cash on the side and loved it. From there I knew I wanted to work in hospitality. I started working in a few bars and a few cafes then after awhile I started managing them. Every day in hospitality is different and being able to meet and talk to new people on a daily basis is amazing.

My original plan was to study to become a locksmith. After studying I realised it wasn't for me and I fell into hospitality. In terms of my hospitality career I think, mostly it has gone the way I'd planned. Luckily I have some very supportive friends and family around me that have helped me along the way.

I think after leaving Radford, one of the biggest things I realised is how important that part of my life was. I made a lot of friends and had a lot of fun. You kind of forget to take that all in when you're there.

My advice for current students would be not to stress the little things. School is important but it's only a small part of your life. Do what makes you happy and have as much fun as you can along the way.